


Intermediate

by jessoyouknow



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24485905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessoyouknow/pseuds/jessoyouknow
Summary: A twoshot of in-between moments between Karma and Manami during the series.
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Okuda Manami, Akabane Karma/Okuda Manami
Comments: 1
Kudos: 118





	1. From Autumn to Spring

“Here you go, Karma-kun,” Okuda handed him her notebook. They sat on a bench in the park near her house. Karma had messaged her to meet him there after class, asking if he could borrow her notes for today’s lectures. He cut class with Itona that day apparently.

He smiled as he took the notebook, stuffing it in his bag. “Thanks, Okuda-san. I’ll give it back tomorrow.”

She smiled back at him. “No problem. Did you have fun today with Itona-kun?”

“Yeah. We just hit some arcades and ate cake at a coffee shop,” he shrugged.

“What’d you guys talk about?”

He looked up at the sky, stretching out his arms then resting his hands at the back of his head. It was beginning to get dark. The sunset was almost gone, slowly being overrun by the stars. This was nice, spending a late afternoon out with her, talking about how their day went.

“Mmm. He mentioned the other guys were helping him modify his tank into something that’d help them spy under the girls’ skirts.”

She looked over at him, horrified. “What? That’s horrible! I didn’t think Itona-kun was that kind of person. And he let the guys do that to his tank?”

He shrugged again. “I guess that was just his way of trying to bond with them. They seemed like they were having fun when I came in this morning.”

“Oh, so you weren’t part of all their shenanigans?”

“Nah. Not my thing,” he shifted his arms, deciding to rest his forearms on his knees. Leaning forward a bit, he turned his head to look at her, his eyes darkening. “Besides,” he said in a low, husky voice. “If I wanted to see what was under a girl’s skirt, I wouldn’t need a tank or high-tech cameras to do it.”

She met his eyes with her own. “That’s because Karma-kun isn’t the type to do something so perverted.”

He blinked. Then he let out a laugh. “And what makes you think that, Okuda-san?”

She looked down at her skirt, fiddling with her fingers. “Karma-kun can be mischievous and sly, but he’s not someone who’d go so far as to disrespect a person like that.”

His eyes widened. No one’s ever said that about him. Oh, he knew he was a despicable person. He’d never deny that. But for someone to have seen something even he didn’t know he had, that was rare. To see he had _potential_ for something. Well, Koro-sensei definitely saw it. He’d have been the first. And Okuda was the second.

For now, he’d ignore the tug he felt in his chest. “That’s nice of you to say, Okuda-san. But I’ll have to warn you, if I really did want something, I’ll stop at nothing to get it.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I know. I wouldn’t have made you your cyanide and chloroform if you hadn’t stopped bugging me,” she joked.

He chuckled. “You didn’t even make it a challenge for me.”

“I was doing terrible in my Japanese. How could I study properly if _someone_ kept begging me to make him cyanide?”

And so their banter carried on. Before they knew it two hours had passed and it was time for them to head home. He insisted he walk her to her front door. After waving at him and closing her door, Karma started on his walk home.

He couldn’t believe they’d been out for that long. He never realized how much he enjoyed her company. Ever since their Okinawa test of courage he knew something shifted between them. He’d become more open with her, and she’d become more easygoing with him. It was something, watching her progress from her timid, anti-social self into a more candid and honest person. One whom he didn’t expect could read him like an open book.

_You’re the sly one, Okuda-san._

* * *

Karma watched as one of the little girls dragged Okuda with her to their reading corner. The small school was dilapidated. Just a while ago one of the older kids – she looked to be one of the more problematic children of the group, he smirked at the memory of his own childhood – had fallen when one of the wooden tiles collapsed under her.

When Isogai declared they were to be split into groups to help around, he’d been assigned to Kayano’s group. Along with Terasaka, they’d been tasked to perform some sort of play for the children.

“We need one more person though. Someone to play the witch that’ll help the knight,” Kayano said, rubbing at her temple as she looked at the script Mimura and Hazama quickly wrote for them.

He glanced at the reading corner where Okuda and Kanzaki were. They were suddenly surrounded by the younger boys of the class. One of them had been nuzzling at Kanzaki’s abdomen since they arrived. Another one was clutching at Okuda’s arm, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.

“Hey, kid. Mind if I borrow the pretty onee-chan with glasses for a while?” Karma said as he took Okuda’s arm from the boy, lifting her up.

He didn’t like that. His face twisted in anger. Before he could protest, Karma dragged Okuda with him to the backstage where Terasaka and Kayano had begun to prepare the costume and props. “Kayano-chan! I found our witch!”

She looked over at them. “Okuda-san! You’re perfect! Here, wear this!”

Suddenly Okuda was holding dark robes and a pointy hat. “Wha – Wait, what’s happening?”

Karma looked back at her as he put on his knight armor. “You’ll be my witch. All you have to do is grab Terasaka and make him sleep. You brought chloroform with you right?”

“Umm, yes but – “

“Then you’ll be fine. Here, take a quick scan of the script. You only have one line anyway,” he said, tossing over the script to her.

After getting dressed and setting up the props, the play had begun. As Ritsu narrated the opening of the story, Karma stood by the side, careful to hide himself from being seen by the audience.

“There you go, Okuda-san. You’re ready!” Kayano whispered.

Karma turned. Grinning at her black robes, black boots and pointy hat, he took a step towards her, tilting the hat down.

“Hello, my pretty little witch. Let’s slay ourselves a Terasaka monster, shall we?”

* * *

"Over here! It sounds hollow!" Mimura pointed at the spot while Takebayashi hurried over to set up his explosive.

"Capsule smoke bomb!" 

Karma's golden eyes shone with pride as he watched Okuda throw down the capsule bombs. As everyone shuffled to escape through the hole in the wall amidst the smoke, he made sure to stay at the back, making sure she wouldn't fall behind. 

As they made their way through the tunnels, Isogai spoke. "Alright, guys. Everyone knows their mission. Those assigned to rescue Bitch-sensei, stay with Kataoka. The rest, on me."

Karma, grateful for the darkness, grabbed Okuda's wrist. He leaned as close as he could so he could whisper in her ear: "Be careful, okay?"

Though he couldn't see it, she smiled at him. "I will. Don't hurt yourself," she said in a low voice, gently patting his hand. 

With one final squeeze, he let her go. 

* * *

"So how'd it go? Was Kayano-chan able to give her chocolates to Nagisa-kun?" 

Karma looked to the sky as he chewed on the straw of his milk carton. With his hands crossed behind his head, he sighed. "She did, but she wasn't able to confess her feelings."

"That's too bad," Okuda replied, disappointment evident in her tone. She gazed down at the stairs as she walked down the hill with Karma. 

"Yeah, Nakamura-san was bummed too. She mumbled something after though, but I couldn't hear what she said." He shrugged. 

"Were you able to slip Terasaka-kun's chocolates into his shoe box?" She looked up at him.

"Unfortunately, no. Hazama-san beat me to it," he grumbled. 

"Aww, that sucks. You can probably sneak it into his table tomorrow. You can add a note so it'll look like it's from a secret admirer."

He swiftly averted his gaze at her. "Okuda-san, I'm speechless. Who'd have thought there'd be an impish side to you?" He grinned at her.

She giggled. "It just seemed like something you would do."

"I guess you know me well enough already." 

"Probably. Oh, I almost forgot." She suddenly stopped walking, prompting him to stop as well. He watched her open her bag and pull a small box out of it.

"Here you go. This is for you, Karma-kun." She held out the pink-colored box to him. 

He blinked. He took the box and stared at it. "What's this?"

"Chocolates. Don't worry, they're regular chocolates. No cyanide in them," she reassured him with a smile. 

He looked back at her, a small smile forming on his lips. "Now you've really rendered me speechless, Okuda-san." 

"I just thought that, you're one of the people I'm most comfortable with in class. You're nice to me, you help me out when I'm in trouble, and you're the easiest person to talk to. Well, for me, at least. Being with you and talking to you helps me with my anxiety on expressing myself. I feel like I can be myself with you. So, for that, Karma-kun, thank you." She gave him her most sincere smile. 

Genuinely touched, Karma responded with a smile of his own, a small blush coloring his cheeks. "Thanks for this, Okuda-san. And I'd like you to know, I enjoy being myself around you too." 

"That's a nice sentiment," she replied. He could see her own blush forming in her cheeks. "Happy Valentine's Day, Karma-kun." 

He was looking forward to White Day already.


	2. Okinawa Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, he kept her updated while they were infiltrating the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to that friend (who shall remain unnamed, coz she said so) who pushed me to write this because I won't be able to anymore once I get back to reviewing lol

“But you all should be proud of yourselves. Even the world’s soldiers couldn’t force me into such a situation. This shows how outstanding your plan is.” Koro-sensei’s default smile widened with pride for his students.

Unfortunately, no one could share in his delight. To the rest of the class, they had failed. Two weeks of meticulous planning and plotting had been for naught. Despite giving their all, they were unable to assassinate their target.

As the disheartened students made their way back to the dock, Karma watched one particular person in the distance. She had the same dejected look everyone else had. He couldn’t blame her. After all, she had been one of the few who’d worked extra hard to earn her right to shoot off one of Koro-sensei’s tentacles.

Unlike him.

He’d slacked off, too arrogant to believe he could top the exams without even trying. This was why he’d decided to lay low. Those who persevered deserved their spotlight.

Like her.

“Okuda-san,” he called out. She looked over at him. He waved her over. Nodding back, she began to swim towards the docks where he waited.

Okuda took the hand he offered, letting him help her up. Collapsing onto the floor, she let out a breath of exhaustion. She removed her glasses, shaking off the water that stuck to the lenses. A blue handkerchief appeared in her line of vision. Looking up at the owner, she saw his eyes brimming with uncharacteristic gentleness.

He gave her a small smile, reaching out his handkerchief to her. “Here, use it.”

She lowered her gaze back to her glasses, timidly taking the piece of cloth after mumbling her thanks.

As she wiped the lenses, she felt a hand pat the small of her back. However disappointed she was at the outcome of their recent assassination attempt, she smiled to herself. This side of his was one he rarely showed, so she decided to make the most of it while they were alone.

“Chin up, Okuda-san. There’s always next time.”

“Yes. We’ll get him next time.” She glanced up at him. “Thank you, Karma-kun.”

* * *

“Okajima-kun!”

Karma abruptly stood as his classmates collapsed one by one. Kayano and Nagisa were immediately by Nakamura’s side. He’d already noticed her flushed face when she had bumped into Nagisa a moment ago. Something was very wrong here.

He scanned the rest of the area, his eyes landing on the raven-haired girl who’d taken Kanzaki by the shoulders. She didn’t look pale nor flushed like the others. Sighing in relief, he turned his head to where Karasuma-sensei stood, holding his phone to his ear. He watched the exchange between him and the anonymous caller.

“Kurahashi-san!” He heard Okuda’s hushed voice. Diverting his gaze once again, he saw her on the floor, attempting to help both Kurahashi and Kanzaki. Okano was wiping Maehara’s forehead. Sugaya and Yada were beside Okajima, whose nose continued to drip with blood. Karma clenched his fist. What the hell was going on?

As the phone call ended, some of the hotel staff had brought out futons. Another one brought out buckets of ice. Once the ill students were settled, Kayano, Nagisa and Terasaka gathered by the table where Koro-sensei was placed. Karma opted to lean against one of the wooden poles, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Koro-sensei,” Ritsu’s voice echoed, her image suddenly appearing on their phone screens. “I’ve looked it up,” she said with a wink.

“Ritsu has done some investigation upon my request. Those who are still healthy, come with me.” Koro-sensei’s eyes narrowed, his smile widening in excitement.

“Wear something that can withstand dirt.”

* * *

Okuda watched as Karasuma-sensei barked out orders to his agents. They were preparing to leave for the hotel on the other side of the island. She turned back to the table where the ice buckets were placed. Taking a plastic bag, she began to fill it up with ice cubes.

“You’re not coming?”

She turned her head only slightly, catching a glimpse of Karma leaning against the metal railing of the veranda with his arms crossed. She was wearing a face mask, so he couldn’t see her sad smile. After tying the bag and placing it into a black bucket, she began to fill up another bag.

“I’ll stay here and help Takebayashi-kun. I feel I’m more needed here. Besides,” she looked at him. “I’d only slow you guys down. You have roughly an hour left to get the vaccine.”

“That’s not true.”

“Eh? Did I get the time wrong?” She quickly glanced at the wall clock.

“I meant you wouldn’t slow us down. You don’t give yourself enough credit, Okuda-san.”

“Probably. But I have a feeling what you guys are about to do will involve a lot of physical combat. Something we both know I’m terrible at,” she chuckled to herself.

He scoffed. “Not everything can be solved with fighting. Sometimes you just have to outsmart your opponent.”

He sounded like he was sulking. Using a finger to pull down her mask, she gave him a smile of reassurance. “I’ll be fine here, Karma-kun. I _want_ to be here. Our classmates need our help. This for me is the best way to extend that help.”

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed. Relenting, he uncrossed his arms and moved away from the railing. “Alright, if you say so. You know, this’d be more fun if you brought your chloroform.” 

She giggled. “I must have left it in my other luggage, sorry.”

He smirked, finally glad she wasn’t so sullen anymore. She was even making jokes now. He walked towards her, then tugged at one of her braids. “I’ll see you when we get back, Okuda-san.”

“I’ll be here. Don’t hurt yourself, Karma-kun.”

He gave an absent wave, heading for the lobby where the rest of their classmates assembled.

* * *

Okuda jumped when she felt her phone vibrate. After replacing the cold compress on Maehara’s forehead, she brought the bucket of melted ice bags to the table where Takebayashi continued to tie newly filled bags. Pulling out her phone to check the message, she was grateful for the face mask that covered her smile.

 **Akabane Karma** : _Made it to the hotel. We had to literally climb our way up and in. You’re right. You would’ve slowed us down._

She chuckled, not feeling the slightest bit offended at the statement. She blinked as another message came in.

 **Akabane Karma** : _But it’s fine. I would’ve offered to carry you on my back if that were the case. Coz that’s what Karasuma-sensei did to Bitch-sensei. We’re inside now. Just walked past the guards in the lobby thanks to Bitch-sensei. We have to blend in with the guests now. Koro-sensei told us to just strut around like snobs._

She bit her lip to keep from grinning and started to type.

 **Okuda Manami** : _That shouldn’t be too hard for you, right? XD_

She began to fill up the bucket with ice bags when her phone pinged again.

 **Akabane Karma:** _Wow, is that how you think of me, Okuda-san? I’m hurt_ （◞‸◟） _Okay, gotta go. In the meantime, use this time to contemplate how you’ve been a bad friend and think of a way to make it up to me. I’ll look forward to your response when we get back~_

Shaking her head, she hid her phone in her pocket before taking the bucket of newly filled ice bags to her classmates.

* * *

“An expert in poison? And he knows how to apply it too,” Koro-sensei commented.

Karma stared intently at the man who’d sprayed poison gas at Karasuma-sensei. He also knew someone who was an expert with poisons. One whom he was glad wasn’t here with them right now. An image of her and her braids flashed through his mind. Though he initially wanted her to come with them, he was thankful she chose to stay behind. The last thing he wanted was to put her in imminent danger.

After Karasuma-sensei kicked the living daylights out of the man, he watched Terasaka and Yoshida finish tying him up. When they’d finally hidden him and placed the coffee table over his body, Karma lingered a while longer, waiting until everyone had cleared the room.

He looked down at the unconscious man, feeling the rage bubble up inside him. This was the culprit behind the illness his classmates had contracted. Such a shame Okuda hadn’t brought any of her signature chemicals. How ironic and amazing would it have been if he’d made this man ingest a toxin created by another poison expert.

As he was about to leave and follow behind his companions, Karma noticed a bulge in one of the pockets of the man’s shorts. Taking out a familiar-looking cannister, he examined it quickly.

He smirked. _This could be useful._

* * *

Okuda felt her phone vibrate again. She and Takebayashi had decided to switch roles, with her filling up new ice bags while he made rounds replacing them on their classmates. Fishing out her phone, she glanced at the screen, which indicated she received a photo from Karma.

She tapped on the image icon, blinking at the picture of a purple bag with a skull and a text that said “Be Prepared.” Underneath the picture was a caption: _Finally got to use these!_

 **Okuda Manami:** _Eh? How? What’s in that bag?_

 **Akabane Karma:** _I’ll tell you all about it later_ ψ(｀∇´)ψ

 **Okuda Manami:** _That’s not a very reassuring emoji, Karma-kun._

 **Akabane Karma:** _It wasn’t meant to be, Okuda-san._

She could practically hear his evil laugh, imagining his devil horns sticking out and canine teeth bared. Hearing a groan from a pale-looking Okajima, Okuda hid her phone once again and returned to her task.

* * *

She was in the middle of replacing Nakamura’s ice compress when she received another message. Taking out her phone, she noted another picture message from Karma. Opening it, she gasped.

“Hey, Okuda-chan. Is that a picture of Nagisa?”

Her eyes widened, surprised that someone had seen the photo. She looked down at Nakamura, who forced a smile despite her condition.

“H-How did you know, Nakamura-san?” Okuda proceeded to wipe the sweat at Nakamura’s temple with a towel.

“I caught a glimpse of it through the reflection in your glasses,” she replied, briefly closing her eyes. After a moment she opened them again. “Can I see it?”

“Um, I dunno. It looks kinda scandalous…”

“Oh, I’m counting on it. It’s from Karma, after all. Come on, Okuda-chan. Please?” She gave her best puppy dog impression.

Okuda blinked. “H-How did you know it was from Karma-kun?”

“No one else would take a picture like that. Don’t you agree?”

She laughed. Maybe she had a point there. At least her classmate was trying her best to overcome the effects of the infection. Such was the good-naturedness of Nakamura.

“Alright then. Although I don’t think Nagisa-kun would like it if he found out that – “

“He won’t know, don’t worry. You’d be the last person he’d suspect anyway,” Nakamura said, smirking at her. She had the same aura Karma had when mischief was brewing.

Conceding, Okuda handed over her phone to Nakamura.

* * *

She immediately looked up the moment she heard the helicopter. From a distance she could see they were about to descend. With a sigh of relief, she smiled down at Kanzaki.

“They’re back, Kanzaki-san.”

Her friend smiled back, reaching for her hand and patting it. “I’m glad. Thank you for taking good care of us, Okuda-san.”

“It’s my pleasure! I’m just happy it’s not a deadly virus after all.” She gave her hand a small squeeze in return. 

When they heard the helicopter finally shut down its engines, she stood just as Takebayashi stepped into the veranda. The moment they saw their classmates step out, they dashed towards them.

“Okuda-san!” Kayano rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug.

“Welcome back, Kayano-san!” She returned the hug, patting her friend on the back. 

She looked up right at the exact moment when Karma stepped out of the helicopter. His eyes immediately met hers. He grinned, then gave a two-finger salute in greeting. She beamed back at him, although her face mask was still on.

When Kayano released her to run towards their classmates, she remained standing where she was. As Karma approached her, she pulled down her mask. He smirked at her.

“Hey, Okuda-san.”

She laughed, feeling relief wash over her. From a quick once over she couldn’t see any injuries. That was a good sign. “Hello, Karma-kun.”

He tucked his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to the side. “Missed me?”

She assumed her default position and clasped her hands in front of her. “Maybe. You’re not injured, are you?”

“I’m fine. Just tired. It was a long night.”

“I agree. Let’s head back to where everyone is. The staff prepared midnight snacks for all of us.”

“Sounds good.” They walked back to the veranda in comfortable silence, letting the noise of the reunited class resonate through the night.

“Ah, which reminds me, Karma-kun.”

“Hmm?” He turned his head to her, stretching out his arms and deciding to rest his hands behind his head.

“You have a lot of explaining to do. From the bag of tricks you brought with you to that picture of Nagisa-kun in a skirt,” she rebuked him, though he could see she was trying not to smile.

He snickered. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything later.”

She paused, leading him to abruptly stop walking as well. Looking up at him, she smiled, her happiness apparent.

“I’m glad you’re back, Karma-kun.”

His grin softened. “Glad to be back, Okuda-san.”


End file.
